Life is sublime, literally and figuratively, for Roman “Rome” Ramirez.

For the past four years, the former San Diego singer and guitarist has been touring the world and recording as the lead vocalist and front man in Sublime with Rome. The pioneering Long Beach ska-punk band was an increasingly dominant musical force from the late 1980s until 1996, when lead singer and guitarist Bradley Nowell died from a heroin overdose. Such Sublime songs as “What I Got,” “Santeria” and “Doin’ Time” helped the quintessentially Southern Californian band sell close to 18 million albums worldwide, more than half in the U.S. alone.

In 2009, Nowell’s former band mates — bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh — reactivated Sublime. They asked Ramirez, then 21, to fill Nowell’s formidable musical shoes. A subsequent lawsuit by Nowell’s estate led to the trio being renamed Sublime with Rome in early 2010. Gaugh quit in late 2011. He was replaced by drum dynamo Josh Freese, whose past credits include Nine Inch Nails, Guns N’ Roses and Sting.

“Bud is a very intense guy and knows what he wants, whether or or not it’s better for the band,” Rome said Monday from a tour stop in Austin. “He’ll set his mind on something and do whatever he wants to get it. And when he gets it, sometimes, he doesn’t want it anymore. And that causes a lot of internal friction with the band and our management. It’s a lot more pleasant with Josh.”

Sublime with Rome performs here Saturday at Sleep Train (formerly Cricket Wireless) Amphitheatre, where it headlines a lineup that also includes 311, Cypress Hill, Pennywise and G. Love & Special Sauce. It’s the second consecutive year Sublime with Rome has played at the enormous Chula Vista venue. For Rome, who has lived in Fallbrook, Temecula, San Ysidro and points in between, Saturday's show here qualifies as a major homecoming celebration. (Show time and ticket information appears at the conclusion of this article.)

“I’m literally living my dream,” Rome affirmed. “Because, before this band, I had a bunch of (crappy) jobs, like working at Staples. Nothing against Staples, but that job sucked. I also worked at Starbucks in Oceanside. That was OK.”

Was Rome a good barista?

“You know, I did my best,” he said. “I was alright. I served coffee to Jason Mraz a couple of times, because he lived right around there. I’d always try to get him to give his name: ‘What’s the name I should put on the cup?’ And he’d always say: ‘Dr. Feelgood’.”

And was "Dr. Feelgood" a generous tipper?

"Yeah, he tipped pretty good," Rome said. "But nothing crazy."

Hindsight being 20/20, did Rome's succession of day jobs ultimately help him gain greater determination in his quest to become a full-time musician? Apparently so.

"Once you get to a certain point, where you feel you've outgrown your surroundings, you have to take the next step," he said. "Whether that means moving to L.A., or getting in a van and touring, you'll know when that time is, when you feel stagnant. My advice, if someone asks, is work hard and be a team player. When I decided I wanted to make music my main focus, I moved to Hollywood, where I met a producer who introduced me to Eric. After jamming with me for a while, Eric asked me if I wanted to be in Sublime. Then we went to jam with Brad. The musical chemistry was there from the get-go. We played our first show, like, 6 months later. It was what Sublime would be like, if Brad hadn't passed away. It has that same flavor."

The top San Diego jam band, now a national headlining act, was mentored early on by Nowell. He took the then fledgling group of teenagers under his wing and gave them key support at a time when few others were willing to do so.

Nowell learned of the band through chance meetings with the parents of Slightly Stoopid co-founders Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald, who were both still in high school. Before long, Nowell had signed the band to his record label, Skunk. It gave a pivotal boost to the young San Diego group.

"Sublime played at Dream Street in Ocean Beach," Doughty recalled. "I was only 16 at the time and I was able to get in to the show... somehow! Just say 'somehow'. My mom got Brad and Miguel (Happoldt, who was Sublime's second guitarist and then managed and produced the band) ) to come back to our house the next day. She said: 'Oh, my son has got all this recording equipment.' She had no idea that Kyle’s dad had also connected with Sublime. I was this little kid and it was when Sublime weren’t a big band yet.

"They came back to our house, saw the acoustic guitars and we started jamming and became friends. Brad took us under his wing and we’d go up and chill with Sublime in Long Beach. Then they asked us to do a show with them at the Foothill Tavern, a cool punk-rock place in Long Beach. We did the show. And, after the show, Brad and Miguel were like: 'Man, we should make a record (with you guys).' We were probably 17 at that time, because we were still in high school. And we were so stoked, because they were our idols and would help us get our foot in the door

"Without their help, I don't know what would have happened. Because, basically, people saw the Skunk Records logo on our CD. And, even if they didn’t know who we were, they'd say: 'Hey, let's check this out.' Because Sublime had a loyal following and word of mouth began to grow for our band. We owe them big time."

Sublime with Rome released its first album, “Yours Truly,” in 2011. But what draws most concert fans is the band’s rich songbook from the late Nowell’s tenure with the group.

“Sublime had amazing songwriting,” said Rome, whose debut solo album should come out next year on Atlantic Records.

“I think that, every year, there’s a batch of kids who grow up, go through puberty and have (adults) telling them what to do. They stumble on a band like Sublime and it takes them away from that. All we want to do is contribute to that legacy.”

In fact, Rome himself was just 11 when one of his uncles in San Diego loaned him several Sublime CDs. From that moment on, the aspiring young musician knew what he wanted to do with his life.

"When I got into it, I was no prodigy or whiz kid," Rome recalled. "I sucked a lot when I was a kid, but I did it (music) a lot and eventually got a grasp on it, and I had a friend who was a natural... I always try to hang out with people who are better (musicians) than me.

"My favorite bands taught me how to play... Rage Against The Machine, The Misfits, Dead Kennedys, Bob Marley. I didn't get good until I heard Rage. That's when I really started getting into the guitar and learning scales and technique. Tom Morello is my god, as far as the guitar goes."

Sublime is now working on a second album with Rome. It's a move that is essential if the band is to be considered a forward-moving group, not a retro-act, especially since bassist Wilson is now the only original member of Sublime still on board.

"I think, initially, going into the band with Bud and Eric, they wanted to pay homage to the music (Sublime did with original lead singer Nowell)," Rome said. "But as we got to know each other, and play more shows and jam more, we saw the potential of the band and doing new music seems ideal. So, it's not so much dwelling on whether or not we’ll be depicted as a cover band or retro act, but more like growing, creatively, as musicians."